Update on Fr. Gahler

Dear Friends,

Many thanks for your prayers for Fr. Gahler.  He got out of surgery very early this morning at 3am.  I was able to go by the hospital to see him this afternoon am happy to tell you he’s doing well.  He even made a walk down the hallway.  Please continue to pray for his healing and eventual safe travel home.

Fr. Robert Gahler at Tel Megiddo

Thursday – The Jordan, Tel Megiddo, and Mt. Carmel

These are pics from Thursday – I’ll re-organize them and write about the day tomorrow.  It’s after midnight and I’m tuckered out!

This One’s for You, Gary – Socks!

My friend Gary likes “holy” socks.  Here’s a pair with the Sea of Galilee on the bottom.  I bet if you wear them you can walk on water (sorry, I couldn’t resist!).  And look closely at the label – they’re made by Annapurna, which looks a whole lot like Annapunna.  Tee hee!!  Three puns in one!

Flowers!

I love photographing flowers when I travel.  Here’s a sampling:

The Seven Species of Israel

In his lectures/presentations on the bus as we travel, Erez has referred often to the seven species of Israel – olives, the vine, pomegranates, dates, figs, wheat and barley.  We’ve seen many of these from our bus windows as we drive from one site to the next… and of course I’m hoping to taste them all before I go!  So far wheat, barley, olives, and figs are covered. I think they should add an eighth – the chickpea.  They serve hummus everywhere here.  And that’s a good thing because it’s addictive!

The seven species depicted on a gift shop coin purse

Wednesday in Galilee

Today (Wednesday) we began our sight seeing in earnest and early.  Breakfast was at 6:45 (a fabulous buffet of yogurts and veggies, fruit, granola, olives and eggs) and by 8 we were on the road to sites on the northwestern banks of the Sea of Galilee.  Our first stop was Mt. Beatitudes, where tradition claims that Jesus may have given the Sermon on the Mount.  It was especially poignant hearing the beatitudes read aloud both in English and Hebrew.

Next we made our way to the banks of the Galilee where Jesus’ appearing to the disciples at breakfast on the beach after the resurrection is remembered. The Church of Peter’s Primacy is built on this site.  I wish I had remembered to bring a plastic bag with me so that could collect more rocks and shells, but at least I got a pocket full!  Caught a photo of a kitty nearby, too.

We then made our way to Capernaum, where Peter’s house was.  These pictures show ruins of the synagogue and an early church.

After Capernaum we took a boat ride on the Sea itself, which was a great way to look back on the three places we had just visited.  It was a beautiful day to be on the water, with smooth water and calm, crisp air.  Maybe it’s the cooler weather or maybe it’s because it’s my second visit, but I’m understanding and connecting the dots much better on where places are in Galilee in relationship to each other, as well as how Jesus might have moved through this area.

At this point we had worked up quite an appetite, so we made our way to a little restaurant with a lively owner.  He’s a 7th generation fisherman and leader of the fisherman’s union.  Of course we were entertained with fishermen’s tales, but also served delicious tilapia and colorful salads.  We then tasted arabic coffee with cardamon – first time I’ve ever tried it.. dee-lish!

In the afternoon we made our way through Cana and then on to the village of Nazareth.  There’s a living presentation of life at the time of Jesus that we visited for an hour or so.  It’s great seeing ruins, but quite honestly, piles of rocks begin to look alike.  Here are a few pics – my camera battery was just about gone, so I didn’t get as much of a variety as I’d hoped.  Not shown are photos of a shepherd with goats and sheep, women spinning wool, and a carpenter carving wooden tools.  Mint was growing in pots, mustard flowers were growing everywhere, and the rosemary hedges were blooming beautiful purple flowers.  I like Erez’s description of olive trees – the history and sculpture of nature…

Our last visit of the day in Nazareth was to the Church of the Annunciation – the angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary. There are numerous depictions of Mary in mosaics – the one shown in the photos was my favorite.  Verbum caro factum est – and the Word became flesh….

Tonight I had dinner with Claudia (GTS classmate) and three new friends: Sunny and Sandy, who are sisters,  and Mary Louise, all from Yonkers, NY.

And that, my friends, is what I call a FULL day!

Mt. Beatitudes

View from the Mount

Mt. Beatitudes

Mt. Beatitudes

Mt. Beatitudes

Mt. Beatitudes

Mt. Beatitudes

Erez reading the Beatitudes

By the Sea

By the Sea

On the Wall of the Church (Primacy of St. Peter)

Kitty on the Beach

Entering Capernaum

More ruins – of an olive press (if memory serves correctly)

Ruins at Capernaum

Capernaum – More Ruins

Capernaum – Evidence of a newer synagogue built on top of an older one

View from the Boat

Another View from the Boat

Another view from the water

The Captain demonstrating the casting of the net (on the right side, of course!)

Where we ate lunch

Sandy showing off her fresh tilapia – yum!

Having arabic coffee

Scenery on the drive through Cana to Nazareth

More scenery

Not bad shots through the bus window, eh?

A road sign pointing to Tiberias

At the living presentation

Blooming rosemary – wish I could capture the smell for you!

1st c. replicas

An old olive tree

Mustard flowers

Mary mosaic in the Church of the Annunciation

Technology Update and Urgent Prayer Request

Dear Friends,

I am safely in Jerusalem, but the w-ifi at the hotel is not good… and neither is it free!  It’s 15 bucks a day, so I’m a little behind in my updates.  Getting to those soon, but I didn’t want to wait to put out a prayer request.

Fr. Robert Gahler, the priest from the Episcopal Church in New Rochelle, NY who is on pilgrimage with us, went to the emergency room last night and had emergency surgery today.  Please pray for him… he will most likely be in the hospital for the next several days.

Many thanks,

Anna+

Getting to Know My Fellow Pilgrims

There are three different groups and an occasional single traveler on our bus – a large contingent of Disciples of Christ folk from all over the US (who do lots of singing), a group of Seventh Day Adventists, a couple from Church of the Nazarene and a small Episcopal group from New Rochelle, NY… an interesting mix!

Our tour guide’s name is Erez (which means cedar – as in the tree) and Rubin is our capable and talented bus driver.

Here’s a pic of the front of our hotel in Tiberias, The Bali Hotel – pleasant lobby with free wi-fi, a typical hotel room with a comfy bed, delicious food in the dining room and a most pleasant and helpful staff…
We arrived around 6pm on a gray and misty evening.  Debby from Toledo is my roommate.  We kept ourselves awake till dinner at 7. I had dinner the first night with the Episcopal crew and got to know Fr. Robert, Deacon Hyacinth, Deacon Holly, and several others… when they realized I was traveling alone they decided to adopt me – yay!  It’s good to have a group to be with!

Our Hotel in Tiberias

Erez, Our Tour Guide

The Back of the Bus

With Deborah from the New Rochelle Crew on the Sea of Galilee

My First Surprise

The first time I came to the Holy Land was July/August 2010.  Anyone who knows me reasonably well knows summer is my favorite season.  I love hot weather, but summer in the Mediterranean is a whole other ballgame!

My first surprise on this visit in January is how beautifully green and lush everything looks… and the sky is sometimes gray and cloudy as well as sunny and blue.  The notion of the fertile crescent was lost on me before.  But now it makes total sense.  Here are some photos of green hillsides as well as delicious, colorful food we’ve tasted so far…

No Rest for the Weary!

Once we all boarded the bus at the airport, we started our site-seeing straightaway.  We left Tel Aviv and made our way to Caesarea (to the north and on the Mediterranean Coast).  Herod the Great named this port city to honor the Roman Emperor (that’s probably obvious) and built many things common to 1st c. Mediterranean culture – wide roads, an amphitheatre, aqueducts, baths, a hippodrome, etc.  Here are some pictures of the ruins and the coast.